How The Gulf's aesthetic heritage has informed Muraba Veil

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects RCR Arquitectes, Muraba Veil is more than just a residential tower; it is a reimagining of regional architectural traditions, flowing into the contemporary context. Rather than adhering to imported skyscraper typologies, Muraba Veil draws from the UAE’s vernacular architecture, incorporating elements such as the Arabian courtyard house, the mashrabiya, and the oasis.

Dubai’s skyline has long been a manifestation of architectural ambition, with its ever-evolving and ever-innovative structures competing for attention. Amidst this urban spectacle, Muraba Veil offers up something new—a fresh reimagining of the architectural traditions that have shaped the Middle East for centuries in a compelling, contemporary context. The project, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects RCR Arquitectes, exists in conversation with the landscape and its dynamic histories, specific climatic needs, and cultural sensibilities.

From the outside, Muraba Veil appears to be highly contemporary—a slender, ethereal, and almost weightless form. The veil, a stainless steel movable mesh, dilutes the boundaries between the solid and the transparent, the private and the open, the city’s past and its future. But beyond this striking exterior the tower embodies a radical shift in how we think about vertical living in the Middle East. By borrowing from vernacular architecture, including the Arabian courtyard house, the mashrabiya, and the oasis, the building reinterprets traditional ways of living in a contemporary vertical format, blending historic practices with modern needs for living and connecting.

Its design represents a return to regional identity, its evolution, and a celebration of it. It challenges the tired one-size-fits-all approach to urbanism, proving that skyscrapers in rapidly evolving cities can be deeply rooted in place, culture, and climate, rather than simply symbols of modernity.

Situated at the intersection of Dubai Water Canal and Sheikh Zayed Road, Muraba Veil is positioned at a unique urban threshold. It straddles the transition between the pedestrian-scale low-rise city and the expansive, high-density skyline. This duality is reflected in the tower’s design - grounded in the rhythms of the city at its base while floating as an elevated retreat above it. This layered approach speaks to RCR Arquitectes’ philosophy of creating spaces that are both integrated within their surroundings and capable of fostering a sense of detachment and contemplation. Their work often explores the tension between immersion and isolation, crafting architecture that is deeply connected to its context while also offering an introspective, almost meditative experience.

Muraba Veil draws inspiration from local architectural traditions. The architects approached the project through the lens of “genius loci”, a concept that refers to the spirit of the place. Rather than imposing an architectural vision onto the site, RCR Arquitectes allowed the landscape, climate, and cultural heritage of Dubai to guide the design. The result is a structure that belongs to its environment, rather than standing apart from it.

The building’s slender rectangular form creates a striking silhouette against the skyline. Yet its materiality and detailing ensure that it never feels rigid or overpowering. Every element of the design—from the way it interacts with light to the permeability of its façade—responds to the unique conditions of its location.

One of the most defining aspects of Muraba Veil is its diaphanous exterior skin, which reinterprets the mashrabiya, a traditional wooden latticework used in Middle Eastern architecture. Historically, the mashrabiya provided shade, privacy, and ventilation while allowing filtered light and airflow to pass through. Found in homes from Cairo to Baghdad, these delicately carved-out screens offered seclusion while permitting those inside to observe the outside world—a refined balance between openness and discretion. The mashrabiya’s role extended beyond climate control—it also played a fundamental role in social and cultural customs. These carved screens allowed inhabitants—especially women in historical Islamic societies—to observe street life without being seen, maintaining a sense of engagement with the public realm while upholding the privacy highly valued in Middle Eastern homes.

This traditional feature has been adapted in Muraba Veil in a thoroughly modern way. The exterior façade acts as a veil, filtering sunlight and reducing glare, while also providing privacy for the residents inside. Unlike conventional glass-clad towers that rely on heavy artificial cooling, the breathable façade of Muraba Veil allows for natural ventilation, reducing energy consumption and creating a more sustainable living environment.

The façade is not a rigid boundary but an intermediary layer, regulating the relationship between interior and exterior spaces. By allowing residents to adjust the mesh-like screen, they can control the degree of openness, ensuring that their homes adapt to changing light conditions throughout the day. This design innovation reinforces the idea that architecture should be in dialogue with its environment, rather than imposing a static presence upon it. At the heart of Muraba Veil’s design philosophy is a reinterpretation of the traditional Arabian courtyard house, a typology that dates back over a thousand years. In historic Middle Eastern cities, homes were organised around a central courtyard, offering an internalised sanctuary that provided light, ventilation, and communal space while ensuring privacy from the street.

The courtyard house was not only an architectural solution to extreme climates but also a social and spiritual centre of family life. Enclosed within thick walls and shaded terraces, these courtyards created a thermal buffer, where water fountains and vegetation helped regulate temperature. Shade and cross-ventilation allowed for natural cooling, reducing the reliance on artificial climate control. The courtyard was a gathering place, facilitating community interaction while also providing a moment of solitude amidst the home’s interior spaces.

Muraba Veil takes this concept and translates it into a vertical configuration. Instead of a singular enclosed courtyard, the building introduces a series of hybrid spaces—zones of greenery, water, and shaded terraces that buffer the living areas from the external environment. These microclimates regulate temperature, improve air circulation, and enhance overall comfort, reducing the reliance on artificial cooling.

By introducing these elements into a high-rise typology, Muraba Veil ensures that even at great heights, residents can maintain a direct relationship with nature, experiencing the shade, light, and open-air serenity that traditional Arabian homes were designed to amplify. Beyond its impressive architectural statement, Muraba Veil offers a compelling prototype for the future of urban living in the region. It integrates centuries-old spatial strategies with cutting-edge sustainable design, demonstrating that skyscrapers can be both culturally resonant and ecologically responsible.

Air-conditioned skyscrapers have long been criticised for their high-energy consumption as their designs tend to defy rather than work with the natural environment. Muraba Veil challenges this model, showing that vernacular architecture can inform contemporary sustainability practices. By incorporating cross-ventilation, shaded courtyards, and water elements, the building actively reduces energy use, embracing a climate-responsive strategy that is increasingly essential in the face of global warming.

Beyond its environmental impact, the project sets a new standard for human-centred high-rise living. Instead of isolating residents in enclosed towers, Muraba Veil facilitates connection to nature and community through its communal spaces, among them a gallery, majlis lounge, padel court, restaurant and cinema.

Through a fusion of tradition with innovation, Muraba Veil sets a precedent for a new architectural language in Dubai—one that is as forward-looking as it is deeply rooted in history.

Such design suggests that the future of Middle Eastern architecture does not lie in imported trends and models, but in reviving, reinterpreting, and elevating site-specific design principles that evolved with the environment over time.